Name of the Week

^.


A genteel surname from the American South
with a rising Arabic counterpart.

 

Origin:

Lamar and Lemar are French surnames, adopted originally from a place name in Normandy, which was derived from Old French la mare "the pool, the pond". Lamar is also an Arabic word, recently adopted into use as a unisex first name, which means "liquid gold, water of gold, shimmering gold."

Usage:

As with all surnames, Lamar has been in use as a given name since at least the 17th century, though instances are not common in Britain, even up to the early 20th century, mostly because the surname itself was uncommon in this country. Lamar was more common in America, especially in the southern states in the 19th century. Much of this use was in honour of notable politicians such as Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (1798–1859), the second president of the Republic of Texas; his brother Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (1797–1834), a judge; and their respective sons (also politicians) Joseph Lamar (1857-1916) and Lucius Lamar (1825–1893). In 1885, Lamar ranked #513 for boys in the US, and with the exception of 1886, 1889-1891 and 1903, it has been in the top 1000 ever since. By the 1920s, Lamar had reached the top 500, where it remained (with the exception of 1963 and 1966) for the following seven decades until the 1990s when it dropped between #500 to #800. This shows how remarkably consistant the name was in use, even though it has never been common, having never broken into the top 200.  In the UK, Lamar picked up a little usage from the 1940s, establishing with regular birth registrations per year by the late 1980s.  click to enlarge In 1996, Lamar ranked #588 with 28 births and maintained a birth count between 16 and 30 births over the next seven years. Similarly, Lemar had 4 births and Lamarr had 3 and both maintained a steady rate.  By 2002, however, Lamar and Lemar began to pick up, spiking sharply in 2003 thanks to the media attention around singer Lemar (full name Lemar Obika). Lemar came to fame in 2002 when he appeared on the BBc's Fame Acadamy, coming third overall. He went on to have a successful career, with his second single Dance reaching #2 in early 2003.  After 2004, the effect of the singer Lemar seemed to wain. Lamar dropped to a birth rate between 5 and 10 per year and Lemar between 9 and 12 births. Interestingly, in 2006, Lamar first charted for girls at #2781 (7 births) thanks to its adoption by Muslim parents. It now even ranks higher than Lamar for boys -- though not if you add Lemar and Lamar together.  In 2013, Lamar ranked #1639 (18 births), Lamar ranked #1796 (12 births) and Lemar was #2216 (12 births). In Scotland, only Lamar for girls ranked at #1013 (2 births) In the US however, Lamar ranked #713.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Lucius Q. C. Lamar (1797–1834), American judge. * Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), the second president of the Republic of Texas.  * Henry Graybill Lamar (1798–1861), American politician and judge.  * Hedy Lamarr (1913–2000), Austrian actress and co-inventor of spread spectrum frequency hopping. Contemporary: * Lamar Smith (b. 1970), American football player. * Lamar Chapman (b. 1976), American football player. * Lamar Odom (b. 1979), NBA basketball player. * Lamar Powell (b. 1993), English footballer.

Variants:

Lemar, Lamarr

Pronunciation:

lə-MAR [key]

Possible diminutives:

Lem, Lars

Sibling Names:

Aisha     Corinne     Kyla     Honor     Sumaya     Keisha       Anton     Jarvis      Orson     Jules     Virgil     Blaise

Name Lists:

N/A

 

If you like Lamar you may also like:   Leroy, Travis, Lyon, Jamal, Clayton, Haidar, Beau, Leland, Lamont, Jamil

 

Thanks to Chamali for requesting this post.